I Bet My Life
by Hippogriff Keeper
Summary: This is a story about growing up, moving away, and then coming back together. This series of one-shots will chronicle the post-Hogwarts lives of Hugo Weasley, Lily Potter, Kevin Wood, and Selene Dursley as they push to find themselves after each of them walks away from their families. It is based on the song I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons. I don't own the song or Harry Potter.
1. November 11, 2027—Hugo

I Bet My Life

Chapter One: November 11, 2027—Hugo

 _I know I took a path that you would never want for me_

 _I know I let you down, didn't I_

Hugo was greeted by the strong scent of frying peppers and onions the moment he walked into his and his cousin Lily's shared flat. "Oh, no; Lily, what are you doing?"

"Oh, shut up Hugo. At least I'm trying; you threw in the towel on learning to cook about a month after we moved in," Lily called to him. She appeared out a side door that led to their miniscule kitchen waving a wooden spoon.

"All right, all right," said Hugo, chuckling. He paused to shut the door and hang his coat on a spare hook. "So why the sudden urge to try again? After last time when you set my hair on fire—"

"Hey, that was one time!" Lily retorted leading the way back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, when cooking," Hugo snapped back. He ran his hand through his rust-colored hair remembering the near bald patch he had had for a week.

In the kitchen Hugo saw what Lily had been making. True to the smell there were onions and bell peppers frying in their one skillet and in a bowl next to the stove were what looked like scrambled eggs.

Hugo raised one eyebrow at the dinner Lily was making. "Eggs for dinner?" he asked.

"Not just eggs, omelets," Lily told him, tossing her long dark red hair over her shoulder. She turned her back on her cousin and poured the eggs over the onions and peppers in the pan.

Hugo took a seat at the small scrubbed round table shoved up against the back wall. He watched Lily pull two butterbeers from a cabinet above the stove and set them on the table. Hugo pulled his wand from inside his work robes and chilled both bottles with a wave before grabbing his bottle.

"So, how was work?" Lily asked Hugo. She spun her chair around, making a loud scraping sound, and straddled the seat, resting her forearms on the back.

Hugo sighed and took a sip of butterbeer, relishing the sweet cold taste, before answering. "The usual: I have an idea to move beyond observation and everyone else is too scared to move forward." Hugo made face showing exactly how exasperated he was with his department. Lily rolled her eyes in agreement before getting up again to check on her and Hugo's 'dinner'.

"All right stand back, could get messy," Lily said with a wink. Hugo pretended to push himself farther away from her but with his chair already shoved against the wall that was best he could do.

"Don't tell me you're going to try and flip that. You remember the Pancake Incident, right?"

Lily responded by sticking her tongue out at him and then launching the omelet into the air.

 _Three…two…one,_ Hugo thought as the omelet neared the ceiling, missed Lily's hopeful reach with the skillet, and hit the ground with an audible _splat._

"Damn," muttered Lily. "I thought I had it that time."

Hugo took one long sip from his drink before pulling out his wand again and summoning his and Lily's coats. "Leaky Cauldron?" he asked, even thought he knew the answer.

Lily turned off the stove and snatched her coat from Hugo. "Like you could do any better." They gripped hands and apparated together.

The pair landed in a dingy alleyway about a block from the Leaky Cauldron. Within moments Hugo felt thee cold he had gotten rid of less than half an hour ago return in full force. He rubbed his hands together, regretting not bringing his gloves, and linked elbows with Lily to trudge through the beginnings of snowfall.

Lily yanked the door to the pub open. She marched up to the bar while Hugo glanced around to find a place to sit.

That proved to be a mistake. Hugo's eyes alighted on a cozy-looking couple snuggled up together in a candle-lit corner of the pub. His sister Rose and her boyfriend Scorpius Malfoy were leaning in very close to each other holding a giggly conversation, at least on the part of Rose.

As if sensing her younger brother's gaze Rose looked up. A nervous smile flitted across her face; the shine in her blue eyes appeared to dim. Scorpius followed his girlfriends' stare to look at Hugo as well. Unlike Rose, however, he didn't seem perturbed by the other Weasley's presence.

"Oh, Hugo, hey," Scorpius said. He stood up and Rose somewhat reluctantly followed. "How's it going?" he asked once he reached Hugo. Scorpius looked down on him with an easy grin, his pale blond hair turned gold in the dim light.

Meanwhile, next to him, Rose was looking more and more uncomfortable with the interaction. She twirled a loose lock of coppery hair fallen from her bun around her finger; a nervous tick Hugo remembered from childhood.

"Um, err, fine, I guess," Hugo stumbled out. Scorpius had always been intimidating to Hugo. The stories about Malfoy's father that Hugo's own father would tell gave Hugo an unrealistic expectation of what to expect when Hugo met the younger Malfoy. Instead Scorpius was a contradiction of sorts: once he was sorted into Ravenclaw he made a point to separate himself from his family's history. When Hugo had also been sorted into Ravenclaw Scorpius had made an active effort to welcome him.

But despite this, Scorpius Malfoy would always be the one who took Rose's side when she said Hugo becoming a prefect, and then later an Unspeakable, was a joke and a disgrace to her and the family's legacy. Scorpius Malfoy would still be the person who let a team mate hex Lily just before a Quidditch match because the then captain wanted to give Ravenclaw an 'edge'. Hugo just didn't know what to think of him. Lily didn't have any trouble figuring that out, however.

Lily glared at the couple openly as came up behind Hugo. It wasn't a secret that she disliked Malfoy and disagreed with Rose about close to everything. What made the dislike worse was the fact that Rose and Scorpius were Aurors and Lily was in her second of training to become an Auror, meaning they all saw a rather lot of each other.

"Oh. Lily, you're here," Rose said. Her feeble attempt at a smile disappeared as her eyes narrowed.

"Um, yeah, we were, um," Hugo stammered. He didn't want to be here. Not only did Lily not get along with Rose and Scorpius, but Hugo hadn't spoken to his sister in almost a year. Not since he started work in the Department of Mysteries. Hugo inwardly cursed Scorpius' obliviousness along with Hugo's own inability to speak like a normal human being.

"We were coming in for a bite," Lily said over Hugo, a pointed look in her face. "Hugo was looking for a table, in fact, when he was interrupted. We should go."

Hugo just nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. He let Lily pull on his arm to lead him away from this painful interaction with minimal scarring. Rose had other ideas apparently.

"Err, actually Hugo, I was thinking we could talk?" She sounded earnest for once, and maybe that was why Hugo stopped and turned back around. She peeped at him from underneath her shiny fringe looking for all intents and purposes nervous and fidgety. Hugo found himself wondering, _how did everything get so messed up?_

Hugo nodded after a beat of silence, cleared his throat. "Yeah, okay," he managed.

"You sure?" Lily's tone changed from cold to warm and concerned as she whispered to Hugo.

Hugo waited a beat before nodding. "Yeah."

Lily faded into the background. Scorpius slipped back to his table. Hugo followed Rose out the back door of the Leaky Cauldron to where the bins were, and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Rose leaned against the door jam, breathing out a puff of air. She peeped at him through her eyelashes, narrowing her eyes as if trying to hear what Hugo was thinking.

For his part, Hugo didn't give anything away; Hugo waited for Rose to speak first. Rose always spoke first.

"It's been a while," Rose breathed out, voice soft.

"Yeah, I guess; what did you need to talk to me about?" Hugo's fingers grew restless, tapping his leg, fumbling with the buttons on his coat. There was a desperate need to keep them moving, the only thing stopping him from fleeing.

"I wanted—" Rose stopped herself. Tried again, "Can I just look at you? I've only caught glimpses while at the Ministry. The last time I saw you—really saw you—was when you left…"

Hugo didn't stop fidgeting until Rose added "please". Hugo stared at Rose right in the eyes, noticing, for perhaps the first time in his life, a look of desperation on her face. He grinned at her, enjoying the even ground.

The look vanished from Rose's face. She held Hugo's gaze, studied him with steady eyes and the ghost of a smile. Hugo's grin faded.

"I've wanted to talk with you for so long, but I couldn't bring myself to try and find you. I—I wanted to try and understand, Hugo. You just left without giving me a chance to understand—" Rose stopped herself as Hugo began to shake his head, the beginnings of laughter starting low in his throat. He took a step back.

"You're kidding? I mean, what was there to understand, Rose? I wanted a job, not world domination."

Now Rose was looking disappointed in him, as if she couldn't believe that after all this time apart Hugo still couldn't come around to her, and their parents' side of thinking.

"It wasn't just a job, Hugo, and you know that. The things inside the Department of Mysteries shouldn't be studied; the department shouldn't even exist."

"Your opinion, not mine," Hugo pointed out. He accentuated the point by pointing in turn to his sister then himself. He moved away from Rose, closer to the entrance to Diagon Alley.

He pressed his hand against the rough brick wall, almost willing it to open at his touch. "I get why Mum and Dad disliked me working there so much, after everything that happened to them, but why did you care? You had carved out your perfect adult life to go with your perfect childhood, so why did you have to mess with mine?" Hugo whispered to his numbing fingers.

Out off the corner of his eye Hugo saw Rose leave the warm honey glow from the Leaky Cauldron and come to stand a little ways behind him.

"I didn't criticize your career choice to burst your bubble, Hugo. After everything that department has done to this family you decide to become part of it. Did you even think about granddad?"

Hugo's eyes darkened; he whirled around to glare at her. "There hasn't been a day since he died that I don't think about him, but his death had nothing to do with his experience in the Department of Mysteries. Granddad was happy for me when I was accepted into the program; only you and mum and dad had anything wrong to say about it."

Now it was Rose's turn to be angry. "We weren't the only ones who disapproved Hugo. Everything in those dungeons screams evil and dangerous. Wanting control of things like death and love is wrong, Hugo. Why can't you see?" Her eyes took a pleading sheen again at the end of her question.

"We don't want to control them! We study those things to understand! To help people," Hugo shouted.

"If you wanted to help people you should've been a healer!" Rose yelled back. She was pointing her finger at his chest, accusing and desperate.

The door to the Leaky Cauldron banged open and the light from the bar spread beyond its previous limits. Hugo felt warmth wash over him in a soothing after-effect of Lily coming out to look for him. Scorpius followed behind the redhead in one of those rare moments where Lily and Scorpius unite to keep Hugo and Rose from tearing each other apart, magically or otherwise.

Hugo blinks and notices how the snow has started falling in earnest, and in the process is brought back down to earth. "This conversation is pointless," Hugo tells Rose without breaking eye contact. "I don't need your or anyone else's approval on how to live my life. You and our parents don't control me anymore, so stop trying." Rose, for her part, looks stunned for a moment, before her mask hardens across her face leaving her eyes sharp and her jaw locked tight.

Hugo walks away then, nodding to Lily who is standing awkwardly next to the still open door to the pub. Scorpius, likewise, stands on the opposite side of the door, trying in vain to look busy searching for something in the pockets of his robes. It's just like every other time Hugo and Rose have gotten into it. It feels good to break the cycle, Hugo decides.


	2. April 11, 2025—Kevin

I Bet My Life

Chapter Two: April 11, 2025—Kevin

 _So many sleepless nights where you were waiting up on me_

 _But I'm just a slave unto the night_

Kevin came to the realization that the Minister for Magic had asked him a question when he felt the sharp pinch from his mother's talon-like fingernails digging into his forearm.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry could you repeat that?" Kevin asked, going for a look of innocent bashfulness while he felt anything but.

To help sell the façade Kevin's mother, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister Caroline Edgars, chuckled beside him. "Kevin's always got his head in the clouds, just like his father. He just needs something to focus on."

The Minister smiled indulgently at that. Kevin gave his own abashed one.

Minister Corner's blue eyes glimmered in amusement. "What I was saying Kevin, is that the ministry is looking for a host of young leaders, like you, to bring into the ministry in starting positions in all departments. Fresh blood, you know? It could open many doors for you; just look at your mother," He added, as if sensing he was losing Kevin.

Truth be told the Minister had, but because of what he said. A temporary godsend was a godsend considering how close it was to the end of Kevin's Seventh year. The reason for his distraction was across the hall at the buffet table. Lily Potter stood in front of the table making ridiculous faces at him while eating a pumpkin pasty. She blew up her cheeks and bugged out her like a puffer fish. Kevin fought the urge to laugh and forced himself to rejoin the conversation.

"Yes, Minister Corner, that does sound like something I would be interested in," Kevin replied with a smile. "I will send you an owl with my information as soon as I'm back in school."

"I'll be anticipating it," Corner nodded in farewell. "Now if you'll excuse us, Kevin, your mother and I have to make the rounds. Enjoy the rest of your night."

Kevin's mother relinquished her son's arm and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Don't wander too far; I still have some important people I want you to meet." She gave him a sharp warning look out of her dark coffee-colored eyes before gliding off after the minister.

Once assured neither his mother nor Corner were turning around Kevin rushed ahead to the buffet table where Lily was still leaning, looking bored. Her light hazel eyes brightened at his approach; she tossed the cake she was holding aside, long red hair rippling out behind her like a banner, and tugged him closer.

Without any sort of discussion the pair set off, fingers threaded together.

"What did the minister have to say?" Lily asked as she led him in bobbing around a pair of waiters holding up bottles of elf-made on trays.

"He offered me a job," Kevin whispered, struggling to keep up with the flighty girl despite her strong grip on his hand.

Kevin caught sight of Lily's flower patterned skirt disappearing behind a curtain before she gave a sharp tug on his hand and pulled him in after her.

Hidden behind the thick velvet curtains Kevin finally managed to steal a kiss. Lily grinned at him before pulling him up on the window sill with her.

"And what did you say?" Lily asked, her voice going soft. She tilted her head for a better angle at Kevin's face. Her eyes were shining but gave nothing away.

"I told him I'd send him an owl," Kevin shrugged, failing to look unconcerned. A crinkle appeared in Lily's forehead, cracked her assumed impassivity.

"Do you want a ministry job, though? I thought that was your mother's dream." She spoke carefully and with her head down, unlike anything else Lily did: impulsive and faced head-on.

Kevin shook his head, paused. "I don't know. For now it's just a job, but I don't know," he mumbled.

The frown Kevin saw on her face when she looked up at him again softened. Lily leaned her head on his shoulder, took his hand again. "You'll figure it out," she sighed into his collar.

Kevin nodded and rested his head on top of Lily's. "Only I haven't got that much time to decide. If I don't do something soon I'll wake up one morning to campaign posters my mother hung up everywhere," Kevin said. Lily giggled; her breath tickled his throat. "I wish I could be more like you; you've known that you want to be an Auror since you were seven years old. I'm seventeen and I still haven't got anything figured out."

Lily got up so fast Kevin lunged out to grip the window sill to stop him from falling. She was standing in front of him, hands on his shoulders, bending down to see his face. "Don't say that," she told him. "You're fine. It's just everyone else making you think you're wrong for wanting to find your passion. Needing time isn't a bad thing, Kevin."

Lily released him to check behind the curtain. Kevin grinned at the back of her head. With her he felt like he had all the time in the world. The next moment Lily was tugging him after her again. "They'll start looking for us soon."

Right before Lily and Kevin split off to find their respective parents Lily leaned forward to kiss Kevin. It was short but strong and assuring, just like Lily. She winked at him, saying, "We'd see each other every day; add that to your pro-column." Kevin caught one last glimpse of her dark red hair before she was absorbed by the taller crowd.

Spinning on his heel, Kevin started in the opposite direction, still smiling.

"Kevin, where have you been?" Kevin's mother appeared in front of him looking irritated. "Remember, I wanted to introduce to you."

Kevin grimaced. "Er, well when you left with the Minister I didn't feel like waiting around. Besides I saw someone I knew; sorry," Kevin added as an afterthought. His smile took on a nervous edge as his mother appraised him with one perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"You were with Lily," she sighed, disappointed. Of all the things Caroline disapproved of Kevin doing, his continued relationship with 'that Potter girl' took first prize. While having nothing to do with Lily's family—her father was the Chosen One after all—it had everything to do with her.

Caroline believed Kevin would be better off with someone less impulsive and more serious. Lily's tastes, wanting to be an Auror and playing quidditch, were far too frivolous for Caroline's taste.

"Yes, mum; I met with heads of the departments of Magical Law Enforcement, Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, International Magical Cooperation, and the Minister for Magic. I needed a break," Kevin attempted to reason.

Caroline let out a sigh. "Fine, Kevin, you were only gone a few minutes, anyway. Now come on, you haven't Marcus Dugard; I think you'll really get along." She started walking away from the buffet table while stayed put.

"Kevin, come on," Caroline tells Kevin when she sees he's not following. Her chestnut hair resettles along her back, so different from Kevin's blond, as she continues to look at her son. Confusion deepens in the lines around Caroline's mouth.

Kevin took one cautious step after another before deciding to respond. "Actually, don't you think I could…leave?" At the raising of his mother eyebrows Kevin continued much faster, "I've here for hours, mum." When Kevin didn't see his mother budging he switched to a different tack. "I appreciate you bringing me, really, and I'll be sure to apply for the job at the ministry too," Kevin pleaded.

Caroline's eyes softened, then she sighed. "Fine, fine; don't stay out too late."

"Thank you," Kevin grinned at her. He slipped back into the crowd, glancing around for a glimpse of red hair or a sunset-colored dress.

In the end, Lily found him. "I didn't think I'd see you until the train," she commented from behind him. Kevin didn't bother answering; he just turned around to grip her arm and take them both to the exit. Lily had an amused smile on her face as she sped up to keep pace with Kevin. The pair bobbed and weaved in and around the dozens of waiters and house elves.

"Can you get away?" Kevin asked. He glanced back behind him to watch the Aurors Lily had been surrounded. In answer Lily simply tugged him faster toward the set of wooden double doors out of the Bones Mansion.

Passing another waiter with a tray of champagne bottles, Lily reached out and snatched one of the bottles without missing a beat.

"Lily," Kevin hissed. He looked behind them to see if anyone had spotted them, but only noticed Lily's rolled eyes.

"We're both of age, and there's plenty more where is came from," Lily told him, her voice turning lofty as she opened the doors and gestured for Kevin to follow. Kevin shook his head, amused, and the two of them turned on the spot together and disapparated.

Kevin lost his balance almost immediately after appearing in a back alley behind the movie theater Hugo and Selene dragged the group to on a regular basis during holidays. He landed on his knees, almost pulling Lily down with him. She only laughed and tugged him up again.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Lily grinned. Kevin saw her scan him for injury, worry in her eyes overriding her light tone. Kevin only winced at the ripped and dirty knees of his robes.

"No, but my mum's going to be even less happy with me after this," Kevin sighed. Lily gave him a look, as if wondering if he was serious, before pointedly pulling out her wand.

"Reparo," Lily said with a quick wave of the wooden stick.

"I knew that," Kevin said, going red.

The corners of Lily's lips twitched upward in a smile; her eyes twinkled in laughter. "Yeah, you did," she said.

Kevin grabbed her hand and led them both into the street. Night had already fallen and the asphalt glittered from rain earlier in the evening. Kevin looked up at the sky, appreciating its simplicity. The cool night air against his face was welcome after the stuffiness of the Bones mansion ballroom.

"So, where to, Idea man?" Lily asked, leaving everything up to him. They had come to a bus stop and were standing under the over hang watching water droplets drip from the edge.

Lily leaned her head on Kevin's shoulder as she waited for an answer. Kevin turned to look down at her and noticed the headlights of an approaching bus from the end of the street. "Let's just see what happens," Kevin grinned.

Kevin tiptoed over the threshold, desperate to make it to his bed room without alerting his parents or the house elf staff to his missing curfew by an hour-and-a-half. His efforts were rewarded when the door slammed shut behind him, knocking the hall mirror askew. Flinching at the sound, Kevin glanced around to see if anyone heard it.

"You're home," Kevin's mother Caroline resounded from the drawing room. The tone of voice betrayed nothing of Caroline's emotions, but Kevin could guess they were not pleasant ones. She came around the corner, waving her wand at the sconces in the wall as she passed; they lit up at her command. "Do you know how late it is?"

Kevin sighed; of course she would wait up for him. He followed his back to the drawing, passing under the archway with the large poster of Kevin's father, Oliver Wood, at the Quidditch World Cup playing for England. The picture had never stopped haunting Kevin since it was hung when he was six, mere months before Oliver was told he would never play a match again.

"Tell me: how was it? You must have been doing something really exciting if you managed to forget all about your curfew," Caroline snapped at Kevin. She took a seat in one of the patterned sofas and waved her to ignite the fireplace without looking; she was only watching Kevin. Kevin sat down on the sofa, noting that the expectant look in his mother hard gaze demanded an actual answer.

The young man gaped for moment, floundering for an acceptable response and wishing that he shared Selene's natural ability to lie on the spot. "W-well, I am of age," Kevin offered. _Good work, Kev,_ he winced. That was a lame excuse, and if the raised eyebrow his mother shot was any indication, she agreed. "I forgot. I'm sorry. And you should know that it was my idea and Lily had nothing to do with it," Kevin blurted before he could stop himself.

That did it, brought the two of them to the point the conversation faster than Caroline could have steered it. Caroline's eyebrows rose higher.

"Lily? I didn't say anything about Lily, Kevin. This is about you and your uncaring attitude and your reckless behavior. Do you think Lily is a part of that change?" Caroline asked in that concerned tone that told Kevin she wanted him to come to her conclusion unaided.

"No, but you do," Kevin shot back, unwilling to play the game. "Mum, it was one night, and I go back to school in three days. Do you really want to do this now?"

Caroline ignored her son. "Lily may be a poor influence on you, Kevin, but it's your choice to let her affect your decision-making." Her face softened a fraction as she continued "You don't know what you want, so I give you options. I take you to these functions to open doors for you, hoping that something will catch your interest," She told Kevin, at last frustrated.

Before Kevin could offer his own opinion on the matter, however, Caroline barreled on through him. "Instead of trying, though; instead of taking initiative you run around with that Potter girl and her friends, calling yourselves Marauders, getting into all sorts of trouble—"

Kevin opened his mouth, maybe to argue or defend him and the rest of the Marauders, but his mother didn't give him a chance to say anything.

"And just when I thought things were settling down—finally—you start that illegal radio show and next thing I know I'm being sent an owl from the Headmistress; I'm looking like a fool because how could I not know what my own son is up to." Caroline's voice had risen to a near shout by the end of the tirade. Kevin noticed out of the corner of his eye that two of the family house elves were peeking in from the door leading from their sleeping quarters. Caroline looked up and waved them off with the tips of her manicured hand and a half-hearted assuring smile.

It was that Kevin noticed how tired his mother was. He felt the beginning of guilt come squirming around his empty stomach, much like a parasite. "I know," he told her. As much as he was annoyed by his mother's constant interference in his life he knew she was just trying to set him up for an advantageous future. Though Kevin didn't see how getting rid of his friends and girlfriend would make him happy in this improved life. Kevin had never been happier than when he was with Hugo, Selene, and Lily: either planning their next prank or cramming for Transfiguration in the Room of Requirement.

The radio show was another thing entirely. Kevin was tired of the Daily Prophet's one-sided, and often judgmental reports, as well as the constant class warfare around Hogwarts. The Honest Hufflepuff started as a way for Kevin to vent until it grew in popularity and became an underground hit within the confines of the school. By the time McGonagall found out, courtesy of the spiteful Sophie McLaggen, and his mother was contacted the show had begun to spread to the Ministry.

"Mum, I get what you're saying, but I think you have it wrong. I won't stop seeing Lily, Hugo, and Selene, but I am focused and…" Kevin paused while the idea took root in his head, "I think I know what I want."

Caroline didn't respond at first. The only sound in the room was the popping of the logs in the fire.

"Really? Now what would that be?" the skepticism in her voice was not unfounded as up until this point Kevin had been lost in terms of what he wanted to do after his seventh year. To be sure, Kevin hadn't even know what he wanted until his mother reminded him of the radio show.

"Yeah," Kevin decided, nodding. "I want to be a reporter. I'll write for a paper, my own stories in the Quibbler or something."

Caroline looked like she going to faint. Kevin didn't seem notice. He kept talking. "I'll still take the job at the ministry this summer, though," he continued, as if what he had said would appease his mother. "I know you at least want me to get some experience there."

"You want to work for the Quibbler?" Caroline managed at last.

Kevin snapped his attention back to his mother. "You don't think it's a good idea? Mum, I don't think I've been happier than when I was the 'Honest Hufflepuff'. I talked about things that mattered, changed minds, and I really did love it," Kevin told her earnestly.

Kevin watched his mother take in what he said. He was, in essence, rejecting everything she had ever wanted for him, making his own decisions. Looking into his mother's pained expression Kevin's smile began to fade as he reached the long-awaited epiphany that his mother was disappointed in him, maybe always had been.

For years Kevin had lived with the knowledge that because he wasn't a star quidditch player he had forfeited any he had of closing the distance between him and father that had been growing since he was six years old. Never did Kevin think the same would happen between him and his mother; that by not leaving his future in her hands he was breaking the already tenuous bridge between their differences.

"Oh," said Kevin. There was really nothing else to say.


End file.
